


5 Times Kylo Didn’t Ask and 1 Time He Figured it Out

by Hera_Sith



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: 5 Times, M/M, Phasma Ships It, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-27
Updated: 2018-11-27
Packaged: 2019-09-01 05:21:41
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,924
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16758748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hera_Sith/pseuds/Hera_Sith
Summary: Kylo always forgets to ask Hux why until he finally figures it out himself. Perhaps they have more in common than he once thought...





	5 Times Kylo Didn’t Ask and 1 Time He Figured it Out

**Author's Note:**

> Takes place in an AU… the differences will be uncovered as you read.

1\. 

Having worked together for little under a year, Hux and Kylo’s arguments were infamous throughout the entire First Order. Every time Snoke sent them anywhere together, everyone braced themselves and made preparations for the inevitable.

“So, why are we in opposition this time?” Hux finally asks one night when only a skeleton crew is making its rounds throughout the Finalizer. The smoke from yet another broken console is mixing with that of Hux’s cigarra as he ashes it carelessly on the ground and takes another puff-- Sanitation is there for a reason. A bit of extra ash will be hardly an issue compared to the fragments littering the ground.

Kylo stares at the General as he smokes, his brain failing to connect what he’s seeing with the orderly redhead he’s come to know. His chest is still heaving from the effort of slicing through the consoles, his lightsaber still sputtering at his side. 

“Don’t even have an answer for me then?” Hux asks as he leans against the console and checks his nails. “Come, Ren. All you’re doing is making the ‘Troopers not want to work with you.” He finally looks up, “I know Snoke is filling your head with rubbish about hate making you powerful, but that’s a load of bantha shite. There’s no such thing as loyalty or spirit.” He takes a long drag, the smoke exhaling with every word he speaks, “There’s programming. And they’re programmed to follow orders.”

Kylo raises his lightsaber and points it at Hux’s throat through the heavy smoke, “That sounds dangerously close to treason.” He takes a step forward while Hux simply sighs loudly and pushes himself off the console. 

Hux walks until the lightsaber is parallel with the side of his neck, meeting eyes with the Force user, “Then slaughter me and get on with it. I only have so much of this I can take, Ren.” 

“What are you playing at?” Kylo asks, completely thrown by the behavior of his least favorite General. He continues to hold his Lightsaber completely still, already having forgotten what brought on his need for destruction in the first place. The General’s off behavior has captured his complete and utter attention. He takes a step forward, Hux’s neck now aligned with the center of the lightsaber, “Since when are you submissive?”

Hux’s eyes narrow as he takes a final puff and throws the cigarra on the ground, crushing it beneath his boot, “I submit to no one. I’m choosing to extend a fucking olive branch, Kylo. I’m sick of us undermining each other.” 

Kylo watches as the cigarra disappears under Hux’s perfectly shined boots, smoke hitting his helmet as he processes what the General is offering. Surely he’d be a coughing mess by now without the extra filtration his helmet provides. He stares at the man for a few moments before he disignites the lightsaber and reattaches it to his belt. 

“Lovely,” Hux smiles widely, the expression sitting oddly on his face as if he hasn’t had a reason to do so in a long time. It’s really more of a baring of his teeth, really. 

“You have a horrible smile.”

“Charming way to begin a truce,” Hux rolls his eyes, hair falling onto his forehead since he didn’t have time to gel it before coming to find the maniac destroying his ship yet again. 

“I have no idea how to talk to you. You’re always discussing tactics and strategy and probably haven’t seen a fight since your precious academy. We have absolutely nothing in common.” 

Hux studies him for a moment, the smile turning more malevolent as he steps into Kylo’s space and looks up at him, allowing the taller man to feel dominant for the moment. He slowly raises the back of his hand up and runs it along the side of the helmet, caressing it as he would a lover. Kylo stands there, gob smacked by whatever is going on. The General seems to be full of surprises tonight. 

“There’s where you’re wrong,” Hux says, his eyes roaming over the Force user until they settle on the lightsaber sitting proudly on his hip. 

Kylo exhales a laugh, shaking his head as he takes a step away from the redhead, “Don’t even think about it.” 

Hux raises both his eyebrows, “You really think I’d try to run you through with your own weapon? Come now, Ren. You just complained about how much I revere strategy and tactics.” He blows the strand of hair out of his eyes, “Think, I know you can connect the dots.” 

Kylo stares at man for a long moment, “You want me to teach you how to use it.” 

Hux laughs, throwing his head back as he bares his throat to the Force user. This night is continuously throwing Kylo for a loop. First he destroys the man’s consoles again, then he sees the General’s smoke a cigarra while his hair falls into his eyes, then a truce is formed, and now the Force-hating man wants to learn the Jedi arts? Did someone drug him?

“It took you long enough.” Hux studies Kylo’s body language since he’s unable to see his face. “If it helps, I’ll even call you Master.” 

Kylo sputters, the sound odd through the vocoder as he coughs for seemingly no reason, “That’s—I’ll not require that, General.” 

Hux runs his pointer finger under the chin of the helmet, “So you’ll do it then?”

Kylo clenches his fists to prevent himself from reaching out to the man, the reaction completely unfamiliar to him, “Yes, I’ll teach you.” 

It isn’t until much later, after Hux has mastered multiple forms, that he actively wonders why the General wanted to learn sword fighting in the first place when non-Force users tend to be more useful with blasters. However, the redhead has already proved himself deadly with his dual purple blades. 

Perhaps he’ll ask him one day when their truce isn’t quite so tenuous. 

2\. 

“They’ve begun to call Hux the Resistance Hunter,” Phasma says, expression clearly amused since she decided to forgo her helmet until they reach their destination. 

Kylo scoffs, “That’s a dumb name. I’d feel bad for him if I didn’t think he’d get some kind of sick joy out of it.” In contrast with Phasma, he still has his helmet securely on his head. 

“On the contrary, Kylo,” Hux says, appearing from the back room of their ship. “I believe it suits me perfectly.” The small smile on his face looks much more at home there than it used to, especially with smoke from a cigarra pouring out of it. 

“Sure it does,” Phasma grins, placing another card on the table as she plays her solitary game. 

“There’s no need for sarcasm, Phasma,” Hux ashes his cigarra. “I believe I’ve earned it, don’t you?”

“If the thirty pounds of extra muscle you’ve put on has anything to do with it, I’d say you have.” 

Kylo laughs lowly from behind his mask, the vocoder making it sounds sinister, “Good thing, too. You were such a weakling before I got my hands on you.” 

Phasma raises an eyebrow as she pauses her game, “Got your hands on the General, eh Commander?” 

Kylo sputters as Hux rolls his eyes good-naturedly, “You know not to be crude in front of the Force user. They’re all sexually repressed, you know.” 

A year ago, that jab would have sent Kylo into a sudden rage where he would have cut Hux down where he stood and bathed in the blood of his nemesis. However, the two had formed a sense of comradery where exchanging barbs was mostly humorous in nature unless they were truly pissed at each other. 

Therefore, Kylo simply crosses his arms and shakes his head, “Not all of us have so much extra time on our hands, Hux.” 

“I resent that. If I’m not doing my actual job, I’m training with either you or Phasma. Sleep is for the weak or dead, you know,” Hux smirks as he holds the cigarra between his lips. 

Kylo finds himself staring at the older man’s lips a beat too long before he forces himself to look away. Hopefully the helmet hid it. 

“You train with Ren far more than with me,” Phasma argues, curling her tongue behind her teeth. “And he does seem to like looking in your direction a lot more these days.” She winks at Kylo. 

And the helmet didn’t hide it. Shit. 

“That’s just the blank stare of that ridiculous helmet. You get used to it eventually,” Hux says as he drapes himself over a red settee, one knee hanging over the edge of the single armrest. 

“Even with our truce in place, I have a limit, you know,” Kylo complains. 

“There, there, Kylo. I’ll order the mean Captain to cease her teasing,” Hux says, his head on a pillow as he blows smoke into the air. 

“Consider it ordered, General. I’ll get back to my game now,” Phasma teases, sending one more wink at Kylo before she continues silently with her game. 

Kylo stands and walks over to Hux, looking down at his closed eyes, pouty lips, and more defined jawline until the General opens his eyes and pulls the cigarra from his mouth. 

“You need something?”

“While I am aware I owe you a favor, I still don’t understand why you need both me and Phasma to accompany you to see your mentor. Do you fear she changed her allegiance?” Kylo asks lowly as he squats next to him, forcing Hux to look at the helmet upside-down. 

“Of course not. I told you: I have reason to believe an asset will be on planet while Sloane engages in peace talks.” 

“What kind of asset?” Kylo presses, weary of the fact that Hux has always been adept at blocking any and all attempts at mind reading. If he reflects upon their tumultuous first year, he believes not knowing Hux’s true intentions was the real reason he never got along with the man. 

Hux grins as he blows smoke directly into Kylo’s helmet, “You’ll see.” His voice goes lower so Phasma can’t hear him, “Master.” 

Kylo swallows heavily, liking the sound of that much more than he’s willing to admit.

Hux simply laughs, closing his eyes again, “You should meditate or whatever it is Force-sensitive people do to pass time.” 

Phasma looks over at them as she seemingly finished her game and now is bouncing from foot to foot seemingly restless, “Ren, come spar with me, huh?”

Kylo recognizes the dismissal for what it is, “I like her idea better,” he decides, leaving Hux on the settee while he and Phasma go to the other room to spar.

Hours later, as Hux is deflecting blaster shots and dragging a red and black droid that sang as it fought with him, Kylo begins to question the mental state of the General. Hux barely even spoke to Sloane before he was stealing a droid from a Resistance pilot and slaughtering all who attempt to stop him. 

Phasma, having decided to stay behind in the ship at the last moment, opens the ramp when Hux nears, both her eyebrows reaching her hairline as she sees the deactivated droid, “You brought us here for that?”

Kylo is right behind them, fighting off an angered Sloane who is cursing Hux and his entire family for disrupting her negotiations for a piece of junk.

“Excuse you, Captain, but this happens to be Mister Bones,” Hux corrects her as he reaches the top and deactivates his lightsaber. 

“Fuck this fuck show. You owe me for this, Hux!” Kylo yells as he Force pushes Sloane away and runs into the ship. 

They begin to make their way off the planet, Hux shoving the droid onto the table and grabbing a tool box before they even break the atmosphere. He eagerly opens up the back of the droid, eyes sparkling with intelligence as he recalls the interior makeup of this particular brand of droid. 

Kylo wanders over to him, Phasma having gone off for “beauty sleep” with a middle finger to Hux and his aversion to unconsciousness. He stares as Hux pulls out the programming chip with an odd expression on his face.

“You made us travel all the way over here, risked being unprepared for the Resistance, and angered your mentor for a programming chip?!” Kylo asks, already over his threshold. He slams his fist on the table, causing the droid to shift a few inches to the side. 

Hux pauses what he’s doing, finger-deep in the back of the battle droid as he Cheshire grins at Kylo, “Why, yes. I believe that about covers it. And I’ll make sure to pay my debt to you, don’t you worry.” 

Kylo stares for a moment before he stalks away, using the force to slam the droid into the opposite wall before he enters his room and locks the doors behind him.

“You two had better not be having angry sex out there!” Phasma calls out, the noise having woken her up.

Hux sighs as he stares at the disconnected leg from Mister Bones. 

3\. 

“Isn’t it weird that the General and Lord Ren became friends in such a short time?” the Sanitation worker asks. “Do you think Ren is using Jedi mind tricks on him?” 

Mitaka scoffs, shaking his head, “You don’t know? General Hux’s mind is too advanced for Jedi mind tricks to work.” 

“So they’ve actually become…friendly?” 

“As far as I can tell. They’re almost always training together,” Mitaka says, realizing a moment too late that none of the underlings are supposed to know about their Commanders’ training sessions. 

“All officers involved in the upcoming battle are required to meet in the war room immediately or face severe consequences,” Hux’s voice rings out throughout the ship. 

The Sanitation worker looks as if he has heard the best gossip the ship has ever encountered as he scurries away from the officer. Mitaka sighs loudly as he realizes that slip-up is going to bite him in the ass sooner rather than later. 

Just as Mitaka is about to enter the war room, Kylo bumps into him in an act of instant karma, the Knight’s helmet off for once and resting between his elbow and hip. Completely thrown by the Knight’s bare face, the gesture causes Mitaka to lose his balance and end up falling on his ass in front of the entire war room. 

Hux looks up from his notes and purses his lips as Kylo hides a laugh behind a cough. Mitaka’s entire face flushes as Hux crosses his arms, “What happened?”

Mitaka glances at Kylo, gulping audibly, “He—Lord Ren bumped into me, sir.” 

Hux raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow at Kylo, looking at him the entire time he speaks to Mitaka, failing to hide the amusement in his voice, “Please excuse Lord Ren. He can’t quite help his brutish demeanor.” 

Kylo rolls his eyes as Mitaka pushes himself to his feet, “It—it’s okay, sir. I’m fine, please continue, sir.” With that, he fully enters the room and stands at parade rest amongst all the other officers, including Phasma. 

“As you all know, the planet we are invading is made up entirely of water,” Hux begins. “It consists of only a few cities held up entirely by stilts which are connected to the core of the planet.” He pulls up a hologram of the largest city, “This is the capitol of the planet, and therefore the most likely place for them to store the information the Supreme Leader has requested. Of course, Lord Ren will be the one to retrieve it.” 

“And how exactly do you expect Lord Ren to make it into the capitol building?” Phasma asks, the only one willing to voice the question everyone is thinking. 

Hux smiles his shark-like grin, the one which Ren originally thought was horrible. However, as he has gotten to know the General, he has come to realize that smile is usually followed by some form of brilliance from the redhead. 

“Misdirection, Phasma,” Hux answers simply. Kylo raises two skeptical eyebrows, though he allows the strategist to continue. “The Hindrance is due to be scrapped and therefore, I have decided it can be sacrificed. We will hide Lord Ren’s powered-down ship among the debris and allow the enemy to shoot the Hindrance down, giving them false security that they have won. While Lord Ren and his small battalion make their way to the capitol building, Phasma and I will cause a distraction.” 

Phasma’s eyebrows shoot to her hairline, sure she has heard of this strategy before but unable to place it. She’s almost certain it’s from someone pre-Empire. 

Kylo nods, “I like it.” Everyone in the room turns to him, completely unused to him agreeing to plans without arguing about some minor detail Kylo overlooks while Hux insists the Knight looks at the bigger picture.

Hux pauses for a moment then nods back, “Well then, officers inform your underlings of the plan and be prepared. Phasma, find some troops to send with Lord Ren. Dismissed.” 

Once everyone has left, Hux picks up his datapad, making a few notes for his report. 

It’s not long before Kylo comes back inside, closing the door behind him as a huge grin takes up most of his face. He plucks the datapad from Hux and sets it on a nearby table. 

“Why?” Hux simply asks. 

“I just realized something,” Kylo says, spinning his helmet between his hands. “You’ve taught me strategy and tactics—I can finally see the bigger picture when it comes to battles. And I have taught you how to fight. You’re going to be fighting alongside me and I don’t have to worry about your wellbeing. We have effectively filled each other’s weak spots.” 

“You, worry about me? Usually you’re the one disagreeing about some vague aspect of my planning,” Hux says with a wry quirk of his lips. 

“Now that you’re in the field more, you’ve adjusted. I’ve noticed it, Hux. You’re becoming an even greater strategist than before. Just don’t let it go to your head,” Kylo smirks. 

“Truly insightful,” Hux says, smirking right back. “Now go get ready. We have a battle to win, you know.” He picks up his datapad once again as Kylo rushes out of the room, putting on his helmet as he goes. 

Once the battle is won by the First Order and Kylo has successfully retrieved the information for the Supreme Leader, Hux sits in his office, celebratory cigarra in hand as Mister Bones recharges in the corner. He leans his head all the way back on the chair, blowing a smoke ring as he stares at the odd shapes in his ceiling and connects them to make pictures. 

Kylo enters without knocking as usual, taking off his helmet and setting it on Hux’s mahogany desk. Hux doesn’t even look up.

“To what do I owe the pleasure?” Hux asks.

“You like it when people question you,” Kylo says without preamble, a half-smile on his face as he walks up to Hux, staring down at his face where it lays back on the chair parallel with the ceiling. 

“Of course not. I love order and obedience,” Hux says drolly, ashing his cigarra in the crystal ash tray on his desk. 

Kylo leans in further, mouth next to Hux’s ear, “Liar. You love it when Phasma and I ask questions you haven’t thought of yourself.” 

Hux finally looks at Kylo, soft smile on his face as smoke seeps out from between his teeth, “How dare you insult my character.” 

Kylo huffs out a laugh, “Sorry, Hux, but we both know I’m right.” 

Hux opens his mouth to reply when someone knocks on the door. Kylo takes a couple steps out of Hux’s personal space, not having realized he entered it in the first place. Hux clears his throat and puts out the cigarra before telling them to enter. 

Phasma opens the door, mask off but chrome armor still on as she stops a few feet next to Kylo, “Sir, I have a question about the strategy today. It’s been bothering me…” 

Hux is interrupted once again by Kylo’s comm unit going off, the Supreme Leader ordering the Knight to his chambers. 

“Excuse me, General. Captain,” Kylo says as he leaves, Phasma raising both eyebrows at the formal departure. 

“Since when does he care about us excusing him?” 

“He doesn’t,” Hux says, shaking his head amusedly. “He’s just being a shit.” 

On the way to Snoke’s, Kylo laments the fact that he won’t get to hear Hux’s answer to Phasma’s question. However, he quickly forgets all about it when Snoke assigns him the task of finding the pilot and droid with the map to Skywalker. 

4\. 

Hux is already past his limit when he sees Kylo talking to himself yet again. He massages his temples and backs away, not wanting to get in yet another argument with the Knight. 

They had been doing so well the past year, though apparently the truce was much more fragile than Hux thought. The incident where the Resistance destroyed one of Hux’s weapons rendered the Force user completely useless. He even lost to an untrained scavenger and failed Stormtrooper and laid bleeding out in the snow until Hux finally found him. 

So much for all that training with Snoke. 

Ever since, Kylo had been completely obsessed with finding the girl and Skywalker. Hux couldn’t exactly blame him, though, seeing as he put the same amount of effort into finding the traitorous Sanitation worker. Though he hadn’t begun talking to himself yet, thank Force for small mercies. 

In the meantime, Snoke had become more physically abusive towards Hux, often using the Force to drag him wherever the old man wanted him. Kylo, of course, simply watched, bare-faced since he didn’t even have his silly helmet to hide behind anymore. Hux’s officers found its remnants near the lift and disposed of it immediately. 

It’s not until he’s staring at the traitorous Sanitation worker on his knees next to some random Resistance woman that he realizes Kylo’s seeming insanity may be Force-related. 

He sighs as he ignites both his lightsabers and slices the heads off both their necks at the same time. 

It’s satisfying to see the traitor’s head be kicked around by a few Stormtroopers like a soccer ball until Phasma crushes it beneath her boot. At least now they see what happens when one turns on the First Order. 

As he gets the comm that the Malignance has finally arrived, he sees something shiny around the stub neck of the female Resistance member. He leans over, picking up the crescent moon pendant and putting it in his pocket. A memento of sorts. 

He orders Phasma to keep a lookout for more Resistance members as he heads to the bridge. As soon as he gets there, he stoically gives the order for the Malignance to fire its Mega-ion cannon. 

While going through Mister Bones’ programming chip, Hux had come across the designs for the Malevolence, a ship whose potential was wasted during the Clone Wars. With Starkiller completely destroyed and Kylo unreachable, he had spent the past few weeks focused completely on the Malignance. With a few tweaks, he designed a much more energy efficient ship whose effect was just as powerful as the original. 

Good thing, too, since one hit from the cannon renders the Resistance fleet completely dead in space. He immediately orders for his fleet to fire, easily destroying the powerless ships and any escape pods. 

And with that, the Resistance is eradicated. 

While he thought he’d feel accomplished, Hux feels empty. What use is he to the Supreme Leader now that he has accomplished the ultimate goal of the First Order? Sure, the Order’s mission is still to spread across the entire galaxy, but even Mitaka could take care of that. 

Hux exits the bridge, all his officers cheering for him and celebrating a job well done. Usually, he’d reprimand them for being unorderly, but he simply doesn’t care. He most likely won’t be alive long enough to enjoy it anyway. 

“General Hux, come in Hux,” Phasma’s voice cuts through the silence. Hux exhales sharply as he pushes the button, having expected Snoke to be the first to comm him after his victory. 

“This is General Hux.” 

“There seems to have been an incident in the Supreme Leader’s chambers. I’ve tried contacting Lord Ren, but he has not responded,” Phasma says, tone calm as always. 

Hux runs a hand through his hair, noticing detachedly that it’s shaking, “I’ll go there now. Hux out.” 

Hux walks across almost the entire ship, scrunching his eyebrows as smoke comes out of the doors to the Supreme Leader’s chambers. He opens the doors, shoving them the rest of the way when they stick. 

Inside, he stares at the half of Snoke still sitting in the throne, barely recognizing the fight between the girl and Kylo. 

“Your precious General just killed the last hope for the galaxy!” the girl yells, tears falling down her face as she brings her lightsaber down on Kylo, the Knight barely able to block it. 

“Yes, call upon your anger,” Kylo encourages her despite his obvious tiredness. “Let it feed you.” 

The girl continues to fight passionately, Kylo mostly on defense. Hux supposes her strong connection to the Force must be making up for her obvious lack of training. 

“What are you fighting for? It’s over, Rey. Join me and we can bring a new age to the Galaxy,” Kylo says as he holds off her lightsaber, sweat dripping down his face. 

Hux toes a Praetorian Guard’s detached leg away from his path as he moves behind the girl, his unreadable mind causing her to not even notice his presence as she continues to single-mindedly fight Kylo.

“I’ll never join you!” 

With that, Rey stabs her lightsaber at Kylo, cutting him straight through his right shoulder. Kylo screams in pain, falling to his knees as his arm falls to the ground. 

Hux ignites his lightsaber from behind the girl, pulling her back and kissing her temple, “Aim for the heart.” He disignites his lightsaber, paying no further attention to her as the lifeless body falls to the floor. 

Kylo stares as Hux picks up the Knight’s detached arm from the floor. Hux clears his throat, “At least you didn’t lose track of your limb like other members of your family. This can most likely be reattached.” 

Kylo looks between Rey and Hux, then over to Snoke and back to Hux again, “We killed them.” 

“Yes, along with the rest of the Resistance. I suppose I should offer condolences about your late mother…” 

Kylo barks out a laugh, somewhat delirious from the pain, “You just decimated the Resistance and the girl.”

Hux pauses for a moment, raising an eyebrow as he slings the arm over his shoulder, “Thank you for continuously pointing out the obvious, Lord Ren.” 

Kylo walks on his knees over to Hux, not trusting himself to stand on his feet with his mental and physical state, “I killed Snoke, Hux.” 

“Yes, we both killed a lot of people. Hoorah and all that.” 

“Who is going to lead?” Kylo asks before proceeding to pass out over Hux’s boots. 

Who, indeed. 

Later, after the medical droids have reattached Kylo’s arm and everyone has learned of the death of their Supreme Leader, Hux sits in the chair next to Kylo’s hospital bed. During the time Kylo has spent on the mend, Hux has been the de facto Supreme Leader. 

Despite their current differences, Hux can’t help but remember the look of reverence in Kylo’s eyes as he stared at him after killing Rey. That look is the only thing currently giving Hux hope that their truce will eventually return—stronger this time.

“I was just distracting her, you know,” Kylo says, his voice scratchy from disuse. 

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about,” Hux says, scrolling through his datapad. He’d had no idea the man had woken up, though he forces his expression to stay stoic. 

Kylo sighs as he tentatively makes a fist with his previously detached arm, “The girl. I didn’t want her to join me. I was giving you time to make your decision.” 

“And what decision was that?” Hux asks, still scrolling. 

Kylo reaches out to Hux with his good arm, taking the redhead’s hand and therefore stopping his scrolling, “Whether you could forgive me for not honoring the truce.”

Hux stares at the hand in his for a long moment before taking his own back. However, he finally drops his datapad to his lap and gives Kylo his full attention, “My killing the girl does not mean I forgive you, Ren.” 

“It doesn’t mean you don’t, either,” Kylo presses, smiling slightly. 

Hux sighs as he rubs his temples. 

“How much are you craving a cigarra right now?” 

Hux leans his head back, closing his eyes, “You’re going to drive me to an early grave, Kylo.” 

“Don’t say that, my apprentice,” Kylo says immediately, making a face. A moment passes, awkward silence filling the room before he breaks it, his voice contrite “Thank you for saving my arm.” 

Hux smirks, “I don’t know, I kind of wish I hadn’t.” 

“Excuse me?” 

Hux stands, tucking the datapad under his arm as he leans over Kylo, pressing a kiss to the younger man’s forehead, “I may have a thing for cyborgs.” 

With that, Hux makes his exit, medical droids filling the empty space he left.

Completely gob smacked by the General’s words, Kylo doesn’t even think to ask anyone just how Hux got the Resistance fleet to stop before their fuel was due to be empty. 

5\. 

“What title have you decided to go with, Resistance Hunter?” Phasma asks, wry grin on her mouth as she sports her New First Order uniform. 

Hux rolls his eyes as he adjusts the black and red cloak over his shoulders, “You’ll find out with the rest of the Galaxy, General.” 

Phasma laughs, “So I’m just a part of the rest of the Galaxy now, huh?” 

“For my moment? Absolutely,” Hux smiles at her, doing the last tie of his white and black boots. 

Phasma shakes her head as Kylo finally enters the room wearing his typical all-black ensemble, though the material is much finer than his usual ratty robes. 

“I’d like a moment alone with my second-in-command, General,” Kylo says, staring at Hux as he speaks to Phasma. 

“Very well,” the newly appointed General says, barely repressing a laugh at the Knight’s singular attention on Hux as she exits the room. 

“It’s going to take a while to not respond to ‘General,’” Hux admits as he stands, the boots’ heels and platforms giving him a couple inches of added height. 

“You’ll get used to it. Though I’m still questioning what to call you in the interim,” Kylo admits, closing the door behind himself and Phasma. 

Hux huffs a laugh, “You’ve never cared for propriety in the past, Kylo. Now isn’t the time to get too absorbed with procedure. We can do whatever we want with the New First Order.” 

“That sounds dangerously close to treason,” Kylo says with a smirk, just now taking in the white, black, and red ensemble chosen by the older man. 

“If you’re going to cut me in half,” Hux begins with a wry smile, “I’d recommend haste. If not, we have a coronation to attend.” 

Kylo pretends to think it over, “Unnecessary for the moment. Besides, it’d be unsightly to get blood on my outfit.” 

Hux rolls his eyes as he walks past Kylo, opening the door as he smirks, “Your loss.” 

After the coronation, Kylo enters Hux’s temporarily appointed room, one he’s only using until he gets back in space on his beloved Finalizer. As usual, he doesn’t bother to knock before he’s meters away from the redhead.

“You know, one day I’m going to be indecent,” Hux says, raising an eyebrow at the newly appointed Supreme Leader as he throws his gloves on the coffee table.

“I look forward to it,” Kylo says, smirking as he pulls out a brand new cigarra case made of gold and rubies from his belt. “In the meantime, I’ll just have to settle for giving you gifts.” 

“I didn’t realize we were exchanging presents.” 

“We’re not. This is more of an apology for being a bantha shart during the Skywalker map events,” Kylo admits, his head lowered as Hux turns his attention to him. 

“You know I can’t be bought, Lord Ren,” Hux says, anger beginning to contort his face. 

“I know,” Kylo says, wincing at the title he had years ago insisted the man call him. “I don’t intend to try. This is only part of my peace offering. I can’t offer fighting training again since we already do that almost every day anyway.” 

Hux stares for a moment before he walks over to his desk, opening the drawer and pulling something out. He walks back over to Kylo, licking his lips before meeting the taller man’s eyes, “I found this on a decapitated Resistance fighter the day I destroyed their campaign.” He drops the crescent pendant in Kylo’s hand. 

“Um… thank you?” 

“To me, it represents a new beginning. It’s the best I can…” Hux begins before Kylo is hugging him. He clears his throat awkwardly but proceeds to put his arms around the Force user. 

“It’s perfect, Supreme Commander of the New First Order,” Kylo says, not even thinking to ask where he got the idea for that title as he surreptitiously slips the cigarra case into Hux’s back pocket with a little help from the Force. 

+1 

Hux blows sweaty strands of hair out of his eyes, twirling his lightsabers in twin arcs as he circles around Kylo. 

Kylo sucks on his cheek to stop the grin from forming at the antics of his favorite Commander, holding his own lightsaber in front of himself steadily. 

“Kick his arse, Supreme Commander!” Phasma yells, accepting currency from yet another Stormtrooper to add to the growing bet pool. While they all acknowledged the skill of their Supreme Leader, the Force-null ‘troopers tended to revel in the times Hux won their sparring. 

Hux jabs at Kylo, Kylo blocking and swinging heavily. Hux twirls his lightsaber to block, dragging his feet across the floor quickly as he spins away from the attack. 

The two go on like this for some time, Kylo using the Force every so often to knock Hux off balance and force him to adapt. Sometimes being the only non-Force using lightsaber duelist was trying, but Hux took to each form fast despite his lack of sensitivity. Besides, he tended to make up for it with strategy. 

However, he seemed to have been doomed from the start. A delivery droid buzzes just as Kylo goes on the offensive and Hux’s focus is divided for a second too long as Kylo gets him in a hold, lightsaber to his throat showing that the Force-user won. 

“Alright, I give up,” Hux concedes. 

Kylo disignites his saber, reconnecting it to his belt as Hux runs over to the droid which distracted him. For a moment, Kylo believes the redhead is about to destroy it, but soon enough, Hux has a medium-sized box in his hands and is patting the droid on the head. 

“It has been a pleasure, Supreme Leader,” Hux begins as he walks out the door, not even looking back. “But I must be off!” 

The Supreme Commander’s giddy tone along with his haste leaves a weird feeling in Kylo’s belly. He stares for a moment, not entirely comprehending until Phasma clears her throat in a way that suggests she’s covering a laugh. 

“Very well done, Supreme Leader. Thank you for allowing my troops to watch your session—I’m sure they learned a lot.” 

Kylo waves his hand behind himself as he follows wherever Hux just went. As an afterthought, he calls back, “Yes, sure.” 

Without sight of Hux, he closes his eyes for a moment, using the Force to locate the man’s signature. 

Despite Kylo’s difficulties using Jedi mind tricks on Hux, he was able to create a Force connection to him relatively easily. While Hux’s side of the bond was never able to communicate as a Force-user would, Kylo was still able to locate the redhead, sense his heartbeat, and send emotions to him. Hux had decided it was handy enough to tolerate, so he hadn’t argued against the connection. He even claimed it was rather calming. 

Coming up to the lookout deck, Kylo pauses for a moment, running a hand through his sweaty hair to make it look at least somewhat presentable and smoothing out his thin workout robes before opening the door. 

Kylo’s jaw drops as Hux stands there, room empty and box ripped open, thrown to the side as he holds some kind of mask in his hands. He can smell the charred thing from across the room as he cautiously edges toward the Supreme Commander, treating him like a feral animal, “What is that?” 

Hux startles, hiding the mask behind his back as he turns around quickly, eyes wide as he stares at Kylo, “What is what?” 

Kylo raises his eyebrows at the unimpressive response, “Really, Hux? I’m talking about the burnt mask behind your back.” 

Hux sniffs as he backs up each time Kylo comes forward, “I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, Kylo.” He licks his lips, “Why did you follow me?” 

Kylo smirks as Hux’s back hits the wall, whatever it is he’s hiding pressing against it. “I was curious. You’re acting strangely.” 

Hux raises his head until he’s looking down his nose at Kylo, aware that he has nowhere else to go as he’s trapped between the wall and the sizeable mass which is Kylo, “It’s none of your concern, I assure you. Don’t you have somewhere else you must be, Supreme Leader?” 

Kylo raises an arm, pressing his hand against the wall next to Hux’s ear and leaning closer, smirk still prominent on his face, “You know very well that I have nothing more to do today. Now, let me see what’s behind your back.” 

Hux shakes his head, swallowing heavily at the close proximity, “Kylo, if you walk away right now and forget about this, I swear I’ll owe you.” 

Kylo shakes his head, “This is too good to forget. Even if you owe me a favor.” 

Hux frees one of his hands to caress Kylo’s face as his voice goes deeper, “You’re sure there’s nothing I can do to convince you?” His hand begins to go lower, brushing over the Knight’s chest. 

Kylo stutters out a laugh, “You really don’t want me to see what you have if you’ve resorted to seducing me.” 

“Who says I’m not seducing you of my own volition?” Hux counters, raising a single eyebrow as he runs his finger under Kylo’s chin. 

Kylo captures the hand, bringing it to his mouth to kiss the knuckles before he looks into Hux’s eyes, “Show me, Armitage.” 

Hux sighs loudly, resting his forehead on Kylo’s shoulder as he shakes his head, “You’re a pain, Kylo.” 

“Yes, but I’m your pain,” Kylo winks lasciviously. 

Hux pushes Kylo back, clearing his throat as he glances away and back before he takes the mask from behind himself and presents it to Kylo. 

Kylo’s eyebrows almost disappear beneath his hairline, “General Grievous’ mask?” 

Hux huffs, “At least I don’t have a weird thing for my own grandfather.” 

Kylo laughs, shaking his head as he pulls the redhead closer to him, his voice taking on a possessive edge to it, “You have a thing for Grievous?!” 

Hux allows himself to be reeled in, burying his head in Kylo’s shoulder once again to hide the blood rushing to his face. 

Kylo’s jaw drops as everything begins to click into place, his hand curling into Hux’s hair as he pulls his head back to look at him, “That comment you made about having a thing for cyborgs…” 

“Grievous,” Hux confirms. 

“You wanting to learn how to use a lightsaber?” 

“Grievous.” 

“The strategy Phasma asked you about?” 

“Grievous and Asajj Ventress used it in the Battle of Kamino.” 

Kylo pauses for a moment as he tries to recall history, “But it didn’t work for them.” 

Hux makes a face, “I made it work for us.” 

Kylo’s smirk gradually turns into a smile, “The Malignance?” 

“Based upon Grievous’ Malevolence.” 

Kylo thinks for a moment as he leans closer to Hux, “Supreme Commander?” 

“Grievous’ moniker during the Clone Wars,” Hux says lowly, their faces inches apart. 

Kylo’s lips quirk as he throws the mask on a nearby table, “Anything I’m missing?” 

It takes a moment for Hux to gather his thoughts, “Mister Bones had some of Grievous’ programming.” 

“You’re obsessed,” Kylo whispers, pupils dilated as he crashes his lips against Hux’s. Hux takes a moment to realize what’s happening before he responds, scraping his nails down Kylo’s back until he’s holding onto the taller man’s hips in a bruising grip. 

After a few moments, Kylo pulls away, “That thing isn’t going anywhere near Vader’s.”

Hux scoffs, “As if I’d allow your grandfather anywhere near Grievous. It was his Master who burned him, I’ll have you know.” 

Kylo makes a face, “Yes, I know a thing or two about Obi-Wan Kenobi.”

**Author's Note:**

> Did anyone get that it was Grievous before the reveal? Who found out with Kylo? Comments bring me life in this Forceless galaxy.


End file.
